Cellular networks (e.g., 3 G networks, 4 G networks, etc) allow a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone, a mobile telephone device, etc.) to access a web service when an authentication device of a cellular network authenticates the mobile device. A gateway device (e.g., a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW)) may create a session for the mobile device and handle communication with the authentication device on behalf of the mobile device. For the mobile device to be authenticated, the gateway device may send a message to the authentication device to create a session for the mobile device on the authentication device. Ideally, the authentication device may maintain the session until the mobile device logs-off from the web service and/or disconnects from the cellular network.
However, a part (e.g., a card) of the gateway device that maintains the session for the mobile device may fail. Currently, the authentication device does not receive any information about the failure of the part until all parts of the gateway device fail, the gateway device reboots, and the gateway device transmits a message to the authentication device about the reboot. An extended period of time may pass (e.g., months) between when a first part of the gateway device fails and when the other parts of the gateway device fail. As a result, stale sessions (that should have already been cleared) are maintained by the authentication device for the extended period of time. Also, currently, the authentication device acts as though all parts of the gateway device failed in response to receiving any message from the gateway device indicating a failure. Therefore, the authentication device clears all of the sessions corresponding to the gateway device in response to any failure message from the gateway device. Accordingly, there is no way to communicate to the authentication device that only part of the gateway device failed and that only the sessions corresponding to the failed part need to be cleared.